A soft kiss on the cheek was my first alarm this morning, a gentle whisper from my husband as he headed out the door for work. I drifted back to sleep, wrapped in the quiet stillness of the house. The second alarm was not so gentle. A deep, resonant rumble of thunder shook the house, pulling me from my dreams.My first thought was a groan. Rain. I dreaded it, thinking of damp sidewalks and the gray, heavy feeling it brings.

With a grocery run on my list, the thought of navigating the store and a wet parking lot under a stormy sky was just… annoying.I went anyway. The chore was a blur of list-checking and aisle-navigating. But as I walked out, pushing my cart toward the car, a low, powerful rumble began. Not a quick clap, but a sustained, vibrating groan from the sky that lasted for what felt like a full minute. I just stopped.

The air was cool and thick, the sky a breathtaking canvas of rolling grays. I stood there, right in the middle of the busy parking lot, and listened. The rumbling thunder, the promise of a downpour—it wasn’t annoying anymore. It was immense. It was a powerful, beautiful sound. It was the world breathing, reminding me of its own incredible life and power.

Every few minutes, a flash of lightning would tear through the heavy clouds, illuminating the landscape for a split second. The gray skies, the rumbling thunder—they weren’t something to dread. They were awe-inspiring.In that quiet moment, standing in a crowded lot filled with cars and people, a powerful thought settled in my heart.

No one can put things into better perspective than God. A moment ago, I was annoyed by the thought of rain. Now, I was humbled by the majesty of the storm.

Tonight is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. A moment of pause, a chance to step away from the trivial and remember the truly grand things in life. That thunder was a call, a reminder to shift my perspective from the mundane to the magnificent.

So, tonight, I’m getting my behind to Mass. Because after a day like this, you can’t ignore a call that beautiful.